> OSS also tends to attract, um, shall we say, those who are likely to be uncomplimentary.
I maintain several small open source projects. The bug reports are generally helpful and the users very polite. People regularly thank me for my work and I cannot recall a single negative interaction. The trick is: my target audience are computer musicians :)
So you, as opposed to your customers, are just as grumpy and rude as the rest of us...? ;-)
Sorry, couldn't resist. But your observation -- basically, that if you want non-rude users / customers, don't direct your product at programmers / hackers / geeks -- is so common as to be almost a truism. Why is this? Are we all assholes, or WTF?!? Do we have to be?
> don't direct your product at programmers / hackers / geeks
On the contrary! My users are programmers/hackers/geeks. The difference is that they use my software to create (experimental) art. Many have a non-technical background, though. I guess that creates (or requires?) a whole different mindset. These people are genuinely happy that the software exists because it helps them to be creative and express themselves.
> So you, as opposed to your customers, are just as grumpy and rude as the rest of us...? ;-)
My background is in music, so I am not really a typical tech guy (although I've been programming since I was a kid). I might be a bit grumpy at times, but that's because I am from Austria :p
I maintain several small open source projects. The bug reports are generally helpful and the users very polite. People regularly thank me for my work and I cannot recall a single negative interaction. The trick is: my target audience are computer musicians :)